Denver Broncos 2-0: Fool's Gold

People smile a little more, they're more friendly and they genuinely seem to care about you when they ask.  The sun's a little brighter and everything is good in 'Broncoland".  Ahhh, the Broncos are winning, and you can sure tell.

For those of you reading this that aren't in Denver, let me assure you that when the Broncos are winning, all is right with the world here in the Mile High City.  People are really happier as a whole when the Broncos are winning, as strange as that may sound. 

The other side of that is when the Broncos are losing, this place can be flat out difficult to be in.  They say misery loves company, and when the Broncos start losing this season, which they will, Bronco fans will be looking for someone to complain and whine about it with.

I'm not the kind of guy that's going to say "I told ya so", but just remember this article in 4-5 weeks from now.

In July, at Broncos camp, I have to be honest, I looked at this Broncos club as a club that was sorely lacking playmakers, leadership and overall direction.  Going through their schedule then, based on what their opponents did last season, I didn't see how they'd get more than 4 wins.  I think they could get 5 now, but much more than that and I'll be surprised.

They'd just traded away their franchise QB and seemingly were on the verge of losing their best player in Brandon Marshall.  Now, some will say that the Broncos are better off without him, but, I'll staunchly disagree.  You don't get rid of Pro Bowl QB's and get better.  If you re-did the 2006 NFL draft today, I guarantee you Jay Cutler would be the first player off the board.

Back to what I was saying, their new QB struggled badly in camp and there was a strange sense of disarray on the field at Dove Valley.  Guys, particularly the veterans, were in territory they'd never been in, and it showed.

The team looked confused and perplexed on the field at times, and even Brian Dawkins, the ultimate team player, had some reservations about signing here after seeing what had just happened.  The talent level decreased exponentially with the loss of Cutler and that hurt some of those guys' confidence.

I was wrong about one thing however.  This team has certainly come together over the last couple of months, defined their leaders and even shown some fight, but, you know what?  I'm still not buying what I'm seeing.

Here's why:

This team went to Cincinnati in Week 1 of the season this year, and barely got out of there with a win.  However, you talk to some and they'll tell you it was the greatest game ever played.  I've watched that game since then, broke down some footage, and I think it's safe to say that Denver is lucky to have gotten out of there alive.  They played terribly on the offensive side of the ball, and yes, that includes Kyle Orton.

Kyle Orton was about as average as you get, and one might even say he was sub-par, and aside from the "Immaculate Deflection" as it's now dubbed, he went 16-for-27 with 156 yards passing.  In addition to that, the Broncos could only muster up 75 yards rushing from 5 different ball carriers on 20 attempts.  A 3.75 ypc average.

The Defense looked good in that game, I'll give them that.  However, I'm not exactly sure how good that the Defense actually was.  Think about it. 

Carson Palmer was back, for the first time in a regular season game since the injury.  And, after missing time in the preseason, which was valuable time, especially considering the knee injury that he was coming back from, he showed some rust.  Hence the reason he threw 2 int's, which one was poorly thrown and the other was on a last gasp Hail Mary attempt.

Also, if you happened to watch any football at all last Sunday, perhaps you saw the Packers vs. Bengals game.  No?  Well let me tell you, Carson Palmer carved the Packers and their defense for 3TD's. Cedric Benson ran for 141 yards and Ocho Cinco got involved too, with 91 yards and 1TD.  

So, was it really that Denver was that great?  Or, was it that Carson Palmer and the offense were clearly out of sync?  I think it's the latter.

The Broncos were losing in virtually every statistical category, and they were losing on the score board. Until the reception that is.

They should have lost that game. And, I think anyone with an unbiased opinion could agree with that.

In Week 2, the Broncos hosted a Cleveland Browns team that hadn't scored an Offensive TD in over 30 quarters of play.  Over 30 quarters folks.  You know what that tells me?  That Denver's Defense didn't have to do a whole lot to keep Cleveland at bay. Granted, Andra Davis, Elvis Dumervil and everyone else played a great game, I'll give credit where it's due.  But, it was Cleveland, and Cleveland (aside from Joe Thomas) doesn't have a real good line or backfield to speak of.

FYI, Cleveland hasn't scored in 34 quarters now.....that's 8-1/2 games. So, it's not that the Broncos stopped a juggernaut.  They just did what everyone else in the last 8-1/2 games had done.

Offensively, they didn't look that much better than they did against Cincinnati.  Kyle Orton finished with virtually the same stat line in that game as he did against Cincy. 19-for-37, 263 yards and 1 TD, just a shade better than 50%.  Not bad numbers, but, against that D, should have been much better.  The running game improved dramatically with Buckhalter and Moreno, but again, it was Cleveland.

Denver was average in that game against a poor D. That doesn't say a whole lot for Josh McDaniels or that offense.

This week, Denver faces a Raider team that isn't that great.  But, it is a rivalry game, and it is in Oakland.  Denver should win this, heck I picked them to, if for no other reason, just because of how bad Oakland is offensively.  JaMarcus Russell is one of the worst QB's in the league, and he likely won't make Denver pay for any mistakes they make defensively.

Defenseively, Oakland is a bit improved, and they may make Orton pay if he can't perform.  See what they did to the best QB in the AFC West in Phillip Rivers.

Week 4 against the Cowboys is when things are going to start to change for this team.  Dallas comes into that contest as a the heavy favorite, with a Defense, a QB, a RB and WR's that are likely as good or in most cases, better than Denver's.

And from there, it get's worse.  They then host New England and go to San Diego.  After that, they come off the bye (Week 7) and go to Baltimore and then host the Champion Steelers.

In Week 10, they go to Washington and then host the Chargers and the Giants in back to back weeks, and then go to K.C., where they never play well, and Indianapolis in back to back weeks.

My point here is this;  before Bronco fans start talking about playoffs and Super Bowls and annointing their coach as the 'Genius" perhaps it's best to get through then next 6 -8 weeks?  Because frankly, this team may start 3-0, but after that they could very well be 0-5, putting them among the bottom dwellers.

I think it's great the Broncos are winning, and I think it's great that they're performing as well as they are.  It makes my day to day life much easier here.  However, keep in mind that they haven't played anyone yet that's posed a threat to them, or that was ready to pose a threat.  From Week 4 through 14 there's a very real challenger to them that could expose them, and likely will.

In the end, it's a feel good story now, however, I think Bronco fans have to understand what and who the Broncos have played.  To soemhow inflate or make these 2 wins bigger than what they are will only let all of you down.

Perspective is what it's called friends. Perspective.